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Smart Citizens: How internet facilitates smart choices in city life

A report from Ericsson ConsumerLab shows how the internet facilitates smart choices in city life. The report is based on a study which was conducted online in September 2014 with 9,030 iPhone and Android smartphone users aged between 15 and 69. Respondents were from Beijing, Delhi, London, New York, Paris, Rome, São Paulo, Stockholm and Tokyo, representing 61 million citizen.

Key findings

When city dwellers use the internet to make smarter, more informed choices, cities become smarter too. Smartphone owners in cities globally are now making this happen:

76 percent want sensors in public spaces that let them know what areas are crowded and best avoided

70 percent want to compare energy use with neighbors in order to optimize their behavior

66 percent want to have real-time control of drinking water quality

Citizens want to use their smartphones to alleviate concerns with health, communication with authorities and urban traffic:

48 percent would make daily use of a posture sensor

29 percent would use a unified biometric ID to access public services every day

74 percent want both interactive street signs and bike/car sharing

As these changes would be retro-fitted over existing structures, smart citizens want current players to internet-enable their services:

Information generated by public authorities should remain with the authorities

28 percent think authorities will not consider the individual’s welfare and interests when using personal information